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Men’s Hoops:

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern’s men’s basketball team will open the 2012-13 season picked to finish sixth by the league’s coaches in the 2012 Great American Conference preseason poll as released on Thursday.

The Savage Storm are coming off a 12-17 season that saw them return to the postseason for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

SE finished with 31 points in the poll and was one spot ahead of Arkansas-Monticello who received 23 points.

Southern Arkansas was in eight and East Central finished ninth in the poll.

Arkansas Tech earned seven first place votes and finished tops in the poll following its 26-6 season and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Southwestern Oklahoma State earned one first place vote and was second in the poll ahead of Henderson State who also received a first place nod and finished third.

Ouachita Baptist was tabbed fourth in the poll and Harding was fifth just ahead of the Storm.

SE will hit the court Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. when it faces Brigham Young in the first of three exhibition contests against division I competition.

The Storm will open the regular season on Nov. 10 when it hosts Dallas Christian at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.

SE Women Hoops:

DURANT, Okla. – The Southeastern women’s basketball team has been picked sixth in the 2012-13 Great American Conference preseason poll voted on by the league’s coaches and released on Wednesday.

The Savage Storm are coming off an 11-17 season in which they posted a 6-10 mark in GAC play, finishing eighth in the standings.

The team did advance to its sixth-straight postseason appearance and took advantage of the opportunity by pulling off the biggest upset of the GAC tournament by toppling No. 1 seed and nationally ranked Arkansas Tech by an 84-72 margin.

SE’s 27 points in the poll put it in front of a tied pair in Arkansas-Monticello and East Central in seventh with 22 points with Southern Arkansas finishing as a near-consensus ninth.

Harding was named the preseason favorite by a narrow margin over Arkansas Tech, 59-to-58. That was on the strength of an advantage in the first place votes of 5-to-3.

Southwestern Oklahoma State was picked third with 54 points and garnered the final first place vote.

Henderson State was tabbed in fourth with 39 points and Ouachita Baptist finished one spot ahead of the Storm with 35 points in the poll.

Southeastern will open the 2012-13 season with a 6 p.m. road contest on Nov. 9 against Oklahoma Christian and will play its first game of the year in Bloomer Sullivan Arena when it hosts Northeastern State at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 14.